Skived brim cup and blank therefor



May 11, 1965 J. P. AELLEN, JR., ETAL 3,132,882

SKIVED BRIM CUP AND BLANK THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 18, 1963 INVENTORS [ALE/V J74- ATTOR/VIY y 1965 J. P. AELLEN, JR ETAL 3,182,882

SKIVED BRIM CUP AND BLANK THEREFOR Filed June 18, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ArraP/vfy United States Patent 3,182,882 SKIVED BRIM CUP AND BLANK THEREFOR John Pauli Aellen, Jr., Bethlehem, and Richard Hartman Fuge, Easton, Pa., assignors to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed .Iune 18, 1963, Ser. No. 288,702 9 Claims. (Cl. 229-45) This invention relates to a paper cup type container and more particularly to a paper cup having a brim with a skived portion thereon to thus present a. substantially uniplanar brim surface and still more particularly to the aforesaid skived brim cup itself, the blank from which said cup body is formed, and the method for forming said blank into said cup.

Paper cups of the type having a brim formed by an outward curl or head have been found to be particularly useful as containers for various comestibles or esculents; and when a frictienally engaging lid is applied over the brim of the container, the composite container and lid form a package which is particularly adaptable to post-closure processing, such as freezing. In the conventional method of filling such a package, the comestible material, such as sherbert, is introduced in a viscous semi-liquid state into the container opening circumscribed by the brim. A cap or lid is then applied over the brim, thus closing the container opening and forming an esculent package. The package is then subjected to a low processing temperature to freeze the contents thereof.

Since the shape of cup-type containers is normally frusto-conical, it is a fairly common practice to invert alternate packages to thus conserve space or cubeage by fitting the maximum number of packages in the minimum amount of space. In actual practice, immediately after the capping operation, every other package is inverted and the packages are transferred, in this orientation, to a cold shock room wherein the package contents are frozen.- When the package contents are sherbert or the like, a time lapse of approximately twenty minutes exists between the time of inverting of the alternate packages and the time when the contents of the package are completely frozen. During this time lapse, the packages so inverted have been found to leak at the juncture between the cap and the brim, and the particular area of leakage has been traced to that portion of the container brim adjacent the side seam.

An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a container wherein the aforementioned leakage does not occur.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cuptype container wherein the brim is substantially uniplanar.

A further object of this invention is to provide a blank for forming a cup having a substantially uniplanar brim.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a method for forming a cup-type container having a substantially uniplanar brim.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an eificient yet simple method for forming a skived cup blank, which method can be easily applied to available conventional cup blanks.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

The foregoing objects are attained by providing a skived area on the upper corner of a cup body blank. When the blank is formed into a cup, and the upper end containing the skived area is rolled into a curl or bead 3,182,882 Patented Mayll, 1965 "ice which defines the brim of the cup, the skived portion will prevent any abrupt step at the seam formed by the overlapped ends of the blank and will instead gradually merge one end of the blank into the other, thus presenting a brim which is substantially uniplanar and which is adapted to sealingly engage an overlying cover throughout the circumference of the brim.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cup having a skived brim in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line 22 of FIG. 1 and showing the construction of the cup brim;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG- 1 and showing the bottom end of the cup;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view with parts broken away, of a package formed by applying a lid to a prior art form of cup;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a lidded cup in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the inner surface of a skived body blank for forming a frusto-conical cup body embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken substantially along line 77 of FIG. 6 and showing the skived edge and the cutter for producing the same; and

FIGS. 8 through 10 are sectional views showing steps in the method of forming a finished cup.

As a preferred or exemplary form of the present invention, FIG. 1 illustrates a cup, generally designated 20, preferably formed from a unitary fibre blank 22 which provides a cup body having an upstanding side wall 23 and aside seam 24. The preferred shape of the cup 20 is frusto-conical and at its open, upper end, the edge of the Wall 23 is curled into a brim 26. The brim is provided with a skived area 28 in the region of the side seam 24.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the interior of the cup is coated with .a liner or inner coating 30 which is inert and impervious to both hot and cold comestibles. A similar liner or outer coating 32 may be applied to the exterior surface of the cup 20 to provide a moistureimperviou-s layer. The coatings 3t) and 32 may be of metallic, cellulosic, resinous, or flexible ceramic material. Coatings formed of polymers of ethylenically unsaturated monomers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and the like, are preferred because of their chemical resistance, low cost, and ease of application. The coatings may be applied to the cup 20 either in its sheet stock form or after it has been fabricated, preferably the former. Polyethylene is the preferred coating material and, while its suitable thickness is in the range of one-half to three mils, its is between three-quarters and one mil. 7

A bottom end 34 formed of fibre stock and having an inner coating 36 and an outer coating 38, similar .to the coatings 3t and 32, is attached at the bottom end of the cup 20, as shown in FIG. 3. The end 34 has a downwardly directed peripheral skirt 40 which secures the end to the cup body wall 23 by being folded within an upturned edge 42 of the body Wall. The end 34 is adhesively attached in this position by suitable conventional adhesives or by heat sealing the end coatings 36 and 38 to the inner cup coating 30 by means such as described in US. Reissue Patent No. 25,302 issued to K. P. Allen.

When a cup is to be used as the container portion of a package, a lid can be applied over the brim of the cup to close the mouth thereof and to thus secure the contents therein. A lid suitable for such a purpose is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 and is generallly designated preferred thickness 44. The lid 44 comprises an imperforate central panel 46 which merges into a raised channel portion 48 which terminates in a downwardly directed skirt 50. The interior of the channel 48 overlies the brim 26 in snugv sealing relationship therewith to secure the contents within the container in a leak-free manner, even if the container should be inverted. The lid 44 is preferably made of a resiliently flexible material, such as polyethylene, and is provided on the inner surface of the skirt 50 with a bead or ridge 52 which may be continuous or a plurality of discrete segments. When the lid 44 is applied to a filled cup 20, the skirt 50 resiliently deforms slightly to allow the head 52 to pass beneath and frictionally engage the brim 26, thus securing the lid to the cup. I The significance of the present invention becomes apparent when FIG. 4, illustrating a prior art cup, is compared with FIG. 5, illustrating the cup of FIG. 1 having a skived brim. In the prior art cup shown in FIG. 6, an abrupt step is formed at the side seam 24 between the nnderlapped brim portion 26a and the overlapped brim portion 26b, the height of this step being equal to the thickness of the coated cup stock. Because of this abrupt step, the lid channel 48 cannot engage the entire brim and an area or zone of leakage 54 is created between the interior of the channel 48 and the underlapped brim portion 26a.

In FIG. 5, however, the cup 20 has a skived area 28 at the side seam portion of the brim 26. This skived area 28 provides a smooth and gradual merging of the brim portions 26a and 26b, and thus the interior of the lid channel 48 is able to engage, in sealing contact, the entire circumference of the brim 26. With the elimination of the abrupt step present in the brim of FIG. 4, the area' of leakage 54 is likewise eliminated and the package of FIG. can be safely inverted without undesirable leakage occurring.

In manufacturing the cup 20, the body thereof is formed from the body blank 22 as shown in FIG. 6. The blank 22 has a generally arcuate leading edge 56, a shorter arcuate trailing edge 58, and a pair of side edges 60 and 62 interconnecting the leading and trailing edges. The skived area 28 is provided at one of the upper end corners of the blank between the leading edge 56 and the side edge 60. The skiving is performed by a rotary skiving cutter 64 as shown in FIG. 7. The skived area 28 extends angularly between the inner coating 30 and the outer coating 32 and it may be straight, as shown, or arcuate, if desired; the latter configuration being achieved by utilizing a skiving cutter 64 having a convex outer contour. Suitable side seam adhesive 66 is applied to the blank 22 adjacent the side edge 62; or, if the interior lining 30 is a thermoplastic, the marginal portion of this lining may be used as a heat-scalable adhesive.

After skiving, the blank 22 is wrapped around a frustoconical mandrel, not shown, with one of the blank side edges 62 overlapping the other blank side edge 60. The lapped side edges of the blank are adhesively secured to form a side seam 24; and the blank 22 thus forms a frusto-conical tube with the skived area 28 facing inward as shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 9 shows a subsequent step wherein the upper or leading edge 56 is curled outward and downward by conventional rolls or dies to provide a radially rounded surface which defines the brim 26. Finally, as shown in FIG. 10, a bottom end 34 is introduced into the lower end of the tube and the trailing edge 58 is turned inward and upward to form an upturned portion 42 which retains the end 34 in a manner as described in connection with FIG. 3. The sequence of the top curling step and bottom securement step may be and often are reversed.

It should be understood that the present invention applies to cups having any transverse cross-sectional shape, such as circular, triangular, square, and the like, and any longitudinal cross-sectional shape, such as sides parallel, tapered inwardly toward the bottom, tapered outwardly 4 toward the bottom, and the like. Additionally, though the cup has been described as formed basically of fibre stock, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is equally applicable to cups formed of plastic and other similar materials.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts, and that changes may be made in the steps of the method described and in their order of accomplishment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

We claim:

1. A cup-type container comprising:

a tubular body having a side wall formed with a longitudinally extending lap side seam therein;

an end member attached to one end of said body completely enclosing the same and acting as a base;

the other end of said body being curled outwardly into a brim which surrounds said other end and includes one end of said side seam; and

a skived area extending angularly across at least a portion of the side seam portion of said brim for gradually merging the underlapped end of said side seam into the overlapped end thereof without any abrupt step thercbetween and thus producing a substantially smooth surface on said skived portion of said brim.

2. A cup-type container as defined in claim 1 wherein said skived area is in the inner lap of said side seam.

3. A blank for a cup-type container comprising:

a generally planar sheet having a leading edge, a trailing edge, and side edges interconnecting said leading and trailing edges;

said leading and trailing edges being arcuate, with said leading edge being longer than said trailing edge;

said side edges being substantially straight and tapering inwardly from said leading edge to said trailing edge; and

a skived portion at one corner of said blank extending between said leading edge and one side edge.

4. A blank as defined in claim 3 wherein the material of said side is a laminate of fibre covered on at least one surface with a plastic layer.

5. A blank as defined in claim 4 wherein the material of said plastic layer is polyethylene.

6. A blank as defined in claim 4 wherein said skived portion is angular in cross-section and extends through said plastic layer and said fibre.

7. A blank as defined in claim 6 wherein the plastic layer is to form the inside of the container.

8. A package for maintaining semi-liquid contents in a leakproof manner whether said package is in an upright or an inverted position, said package comprising:

a container having a unitary tubular body with the side edges thereof overlapping at a side seam;

an end member closing one end of said tubular body;

the open end of said tubular body being rolled outwardly into a curl which defines the brim of the container;

a skived area extending angularly across at least a portion of the side seam portion of said brim providing a smooth transition between the underlapped and the overlapped side edges of said body and thus providing a substantially smooth surface on said skived portion of said brim; and

a lid overlying said brim and having means frictionally engaging said brim for locking said lid to said container;

said lid containing an inner portion which engages, in contacting relationship, substantially the entire top surface of said brim, including the skived area, and which thus positively seals the contents within said container to provide a package which is leakproof regardless of whether said package is upright or inverted.

9. A smooth brimmed paper cup comprising;

a body defined by a continuous upstanding wall with edges that overlap at a side seam;

an end attached to one end of said body;

a brim at the opposite end of said body defined by an outward curl of said body Wall;

said body Walls tapering inward from said brim to said end and thus defining a frusto-conical cavity Within said cup; and

a skived area at the side seam portion of said brim extending angularly completely around the outside surface of said brim for gradually tapering said overlapped Wall edge to meet said underlapped Wall edge and thus provide a substantially smooth brim.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Pierce.

Fenner 229--1.5 Barbieri 2291.5

Albert 229-15 Gallagher 229-15 shappell 2291.5

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. EARLE J. DRUMMOND, Examiner. 

1. A CUP-TYPE CONTAINER COMPRISING: A TUBULAR BODY HAVING A SIDE WALL FORMED WITH A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING LAP SIDE SEAM THEREIN; AN END MEMBER ATTACHED TO ONE END OF SAID BODY COMPLETELY ENCLOSING THE SAME AND ACTING AS A BASE; THE OTHER END OF SAID BODY BEING CURLED OUTWARDLY INTO A BRIM WHICH SURROUNDS SAID OTHER END AND INCLUDES ONE END OF SAID SIDE SEAM; AND A SKIVED AREA EXTENDING ANGULARLY ACROSS AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE SIDE SEAM PORTION OF SAID BRIM FOR GRADUALLY MERGING THE UNDERLAPPED END OF SAID SIDE SEAM 